Puchimas!: Petit iDOLM@STER

PUCHM@S is iDOLM@STER's take on the theme of chibi styled spin-off routes that a number of series like to explore. In most cases they consist of simple fluff that we really have no reason to overthink or be too serious in critiquing; just watch and enjoy for the moment, but PUCHIM@S, while treading in that same territory was fairly more enjoyable than the majority of the other spin-off shows like it.

Rather than just turning the whole cast into cute blobs, they keep the girls in their normal forms and instead find themselves discovering the existences of these doll-like entities resembling every girl affliated with ... 765 at random times and in random locations then bringing them back to the 765 studio to shelter them all. When I think of babies with relevant roles in anime like something like Precure for instance, I don't expect much except looking cute and a lot of GOO GOO GAA GAA, but the PUCHIM@S are simply sized like babies and are pretty intelligent and sentient entities that come with their own quirks based on the 765 girls they're visually stylized from and I grew to like all of them quickly. The 765 girls are also here with their personalities and traits seen in the show accelerated a bit. Then the producer is here as well but his head is shaped into the letter P and character made whimsical so he's a goof with less presence here but it's played for laughs.

This show is essentially fun fanservice. It's fun seeing the girls interact with miniature versions of themselves as well as being generally happy. The interactions between everyone are executed well and with enough time for us to process the humor in their antics. Episodes are only 2 minutes (credits & next episode previews included) but they aren't bouncing jokes at you at a rapid pace or acting senselessly to make half-baked lackluster parody humor, the pacing is normal so when a situation is still ongoing by the end of an episode it's immediately followed up and multiple consecutive episodes flow together like one.

Remember, it's a chibi spin-off so don't overanalyze it, enjoy it.

"What is a Puchidol? An adorable little pile of cuteness" - Me, in this review.

The way I view spin-offs is that they have 2 purposes: to provide more material for the fans of the show to enjoy or to draw in new fans to the main show. If a spin-off manages to do the former without doing the latter, I still consider it a success. So, in my mind, the best type of spin-off is one that not only provides existing fans with more content, but also manages to draw new fans in. And PUCHIM@S has managed to convince me to try ... out the iDOLM@STER in the near future.

Story - 10/10
What story? This doesn't need a story. It's just a set of daily events that are really entertaining. Each Puchidol has their own special trait, that is apparently supposed to reflect something about the Idol they are a counterpart to (I say apparently because, as previously mentioned, I haven't seen the main show).

Art - 7/10
The art is good. It's colorful. That's about all I can say.

Sound - 10/10
This is a music anime...it'd be shocking if the sound wasn't good.

Character - 10/10
The Puchidols are easily one of the most amusing things I've ever seen - for a few examples: there's Haruka, who multiplies when water is poured on her; Yukipo, who literally digs holes and jumps into them; Miurasan, who can teleport to the location of the person she is thinking of; Chihaya, who bites people (especially girls with bouncy chests); Takanya, who writes down what she's thinking; and Afu, who loves rice balls. Did I mention that they're also really cute? Because they are.

Enjoyment - 10/10
I found this series to be adorable. It's a great time killer, and it's also really short.

Overall - 10/10
The snob in me tells me that I shouldn't even think about giving such a high score to a show like this, but I don't care. I absolutely loved this series.

Normally, I would end this review with a section where I say that if you liked X series, you should watch this, but honestly...I can't think of anything like this. So...yeah.

If you are reading this review, you are likely doing it for the purpose of answering the question of "should I watch this show or not?" Let's answer that question quickly, if you do not enjoy or have not experienced iDOLM@STER, then this spin-off will not appeal to you, go watch something else. If you do enjoy iDOLM@STER, then this may be able to satisfy your craving for more adventures with 765PRO.

The premise behind Puchimasu revolves around the existence of creatures called "puchidols", small, stylized caricatures of those working at 765. These creatures have traits that are greatly exaggerated fandom interpretations of the characters and ... they only communicate through vocal tics that are reminiscent of their respective idol. For example, Afuu, Hoshii Miki's Puchidoru, has a love for sleep and onigiri and speaks only using "Nano" and "Hanii". Some of the Puchidols even have special powers that affect the flow of the episode. While they all possess some degree of human intelligence, they all act very much like pets.

One after another, antics revolving around these strange creatures and the idols occur before they are brought back to their new home with their respective 765PRO idol. These antics can happen in simple treks to and from work, to a global scale, in the tropics, jungle, and desert. The situations they get into range from simple everyday work, to the nonsensical, such as a worldwide hide and seek. This flow of events presents a contrast to those of the main series which focused mainly on idol work and live insert song numbers.

The strength of this spin-off, much like the main series, lies in the character interactions among the idols and with the puchidols. However, the interactions are all light-hearted comedic and comedic in nature, and the characters do not carry emotional baggage or doubts as they had in the main series. In fact, many of the characters have their "fandom" traits emphasized as well, akin to the Puchidols. The biggest change in character is seen in the the Producer, who has been relegated to a much more comedic relief role, becoming more of an unreliable pervert and his head replaced with the ubiquitous yellow producer P. As Producer now has less of a central role, this allows for the idols to interact with each other more independently of him.

In the aesthetics department, the style and sounds are simplistic and vibrant, an appropriate match with the light-hearted atmosphere of Puchimas. The animation is also very simple and limited, so there won't be any song and dance routines like in the anime adaptation. The end credits do offer a few new songs sung by different members of the iDOLM@STER cast, with similar light-heartedness.

With all of these factors considered, it can be concluded that this spin-off places great emphasis on the happy and fun parts of the iDOLM@STER series. If you're looking for more fun antics with the 765PRO idols, then this spin-off is recommended for you. This show might not be for every iDOLM@STER fan though. If you would enjoy more of the character development or song and dance aspects of the iDOLM@STER series, then this spin-off might not be the one for you. Puchimas is a series that offers character interactions that are essentially fanservice and not much more, but that's a perfect match for a fan looking for more iDOLM@STER.